Nothing’s CMF is becoming a majority Indian-owned company with local R&D, engineering, and manufacturing, targeting 100 million phones annually as it builds a global consumer-electronics brand.
CMF, Nothing’s affordable consumer-electronics brand, is being spun off into a standalone company headquartered in India and majority-owned by Indian shareholders. It will have its own local team and R&D operations, while Nothing will remain a shareholder and partner.
The company has a long-term ambition to produce 100 million phones annually. Nothing Co-founder and CEO Carl Pei said this scale could help CMF develop deeper software, camera, and hardware capabilities, while working with component suppliers on its own specifications.
The move puts India at the centre of CMF’s manufacturing and product development, marking a push beyond assembly towards local engineering and IP creation. Pei said, “But manufacturing is step one. Step two is R&D.” He added, “Some components are made locally today, but most of the underlying IP (intellectual property) still sits offshore, because nobody in India is asking for more than what’s on the shelf.”
Nothing will continue providing CMF access to its engineering capabilities, operating system, supplier relationships and global brand infrastructure. Nothing’s India manufacturing expansion includes a partnership with Optiemus involving more than $100 million and plans for over 1800 jobs. Smartphones manufactured in India are already being exported to the US, with further international markets planned.
Pei said, “CMF stops being a product line inside a London-based company and becomes a company of its own, incorporated in India, controlled in India, majority owned by Indian shareholders.”
CMF was launched in 2023 and has since expanded into audio and wearable products.
